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How Are Man-Made Diamonds Made?
by Cynthia Reeser
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How Are Man-Made Diamonds Made?
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Introduction
The process of manufacturing synthetic diamonds was developed decades ago. The product yielded by the early process was not of high quality, but it still found use in industrial products. More scientifically based processes have since been developed, enabling the manufacture of a diamond with enough clarity and purity to enable its use in both fine jewelry and cutting-edge technology.
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Origin
The process of making synthetic diamonds is around half a century old, but it continues to see modern advancements. Man-made gemstones were first produced by Swedish researchers in the 1950s, and General Electric researchers soon followed suit. Early processes used the high pressure and temperatures required by nature to formulate diamonds.
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Making Diamonds with Pressure
According to a "USA Today" article, General Electric began using large machines in 1955 to replicate the natural environment required to turn carbon into diamonds. The process yielded diamonds in the form of dust and chips, which were used for industrial purposes. The diamonds resulting from this process were unsuitable for gemstones.
Gemesis is a company in Florida utilizing machines that compact carbon beneath 58,000 atmospheres of pressure and the steep temperature of 2,300 degrees F. The stones are not pure enough to be used in digital technology, but the yellow diamonds that result sell for $5,000 per carat, four times less than a similar stone that is mined.
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Growing Diamonds
Another method of creating diamonds is a process known as chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Combining carbon gases, pressure and temperature creates the conditions necessary to grow a diamond from a diamond chip, or seed, which is placed in a chamber. The chamber environment causes the diamond to grow on an atomic level.
According to an article in "Chemical and Engineering News," a company called Apollo uses a CVD reactor in which methane and hydrogen gas are sent through the chamber holding the diamond seed. Plasma generated by microwave or a hot filament splits the hydrogen gas into atomic hydrogen, which then causes a reaction with the methane. A radical produced by the reaction deposits onto the seed and creates new diamond atoms, which build on one another to form a larger diamond. Robert Linares, co-founder of Apollo, explained in the "USA Today" article that the CVD process "re-creates conditions present at the beginning of the universe."
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Uses
Diamonds formed by pressure find use in industrial products such as saws with diamond edges, which make cutting into granite possible. The product yielded by the CVD process is valuable not only for jewelers, but for the technological and electronic industries. The CVD process creates diamonds less expensively and is making new technology possible for the future, attracting the attention of military researchers and companies like Lucent. Pacific Research Institute scientists indicate that diamond-based semiconductors will mean lightning-speed acceleration in the near future for equipment that relies on computing power.
